Pain & Gain-Teen Movie Review

Truth is stranger than fiction, a saying that definitely pertains to this film. Set in Miami in the 1990‘s, Pain & Gain is an unbelievable true story about a personal trainer named Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg). He wanted to better himself, become a “doer,” not a “don’ter.” The only problem was he went about it the wrong way. He recruited two bodybuilders to help him kidnap Victor Kershaw, one of his wealthy clients at the gym. Initially their plan was to kidnap Victor, blindfold him, and have him sign over all his assets. However things fell apart, and Daniel and his bodybuilder accomplices got caught up in a criminal venture that ultimately changed their lives forever.

Zero Buckets

Rating: 0 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: April 26, 2013
MPAA Rating: R
Best Age Group: 18+
Sexual Content: Excessive
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Excessive
Will Kids Like It? No

See the trailer here!

See a clip of my review here!

Talking Points:

The film has an all-star cast, to name a few; Mark Walhberg, Dwayne Johnson, Anthony Mackie and Rebel Wilson (from Pitch Perfect). Having said that, with such a familiar/popular actors, pre-teens and teens may want to see this R-rated film. Not necessarily in the theater, but on DVD. With the excessive violence, sexual, and language contents (see details below), this film is not appropriate.

Director Michael Bay portrays this film as a comedy, which seems hard to believe, given the storyline. However it’s such an odd, unbelievable story, the comedic elements were a nice relief.

Besides the fact that this film is not for kids, in all content areas, adults may find it intriguing. Given that this is a true story, it held my attention, while wondering the outcome.

Sexual Content: Excessive

• We see a topless woman in a  strip club.
• A female character is shown wearing a very short dress; she bends over and reveals her back side to a group young boys.
• Two characters are shown having sex against a car; they are both fully clothed.
• There are a lot of sexual references centered around male and female anatomy, sexual toys, breast milk, pregnant woman and multiple sex partners.
• A guy is shown masturbating to porn.
• A character is shown touching a dead woman’s breast.

Violent Content: Excessive

• The bodybuilders tried to kill Victor three times; they created a car “accident”, a car fire and a they drove a van  over his head; thinking he was dead, but he wasn’t!
• Victor was handcuffed and brutally beaten.
• They initially tortured Victor, he was shocked with Tasers, they burned his hand with a clothing press, pliers were pushed up his nose, and he was hung upside down.
• A character’s toe was shot off, he saved it, and eventually gave it to a dog. That was disgusting.
• The bodybuilders hid some deceased bodies by dismembering them with saws, then grilled their hands.

Crude and Profane Language: Excessive

• There was so much profanity throughout the film I lost count. Some words that were said; the f-word, “d-mn,” “b–ch,”  “a–,” “h–,” “c–t,”  “p—y,” and “d—.”

Drug and Alcohol Content: Excessive

• We saw character’s drinking heavily and snorting cocaine throughout the film.
• We saw a man inject steroids into his thighs.

Will Kids Like It? No

Overall Pain & Gain is an inappropriate film for kids. Having said that, adults may be intrigued by the storyline, especially since it’s an unbelievable true story!!

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